Hydraulic steering

ABSTRACT

The invention concerns a hydraulic steering with a steering initiator, a steering unit with feedback properties, which can be activated by the steering initiator, the steering unit having a supply connection arrangement with a pressure connection (P) and a tank connection (T) and a working connection arrangement with two working connections (L, R), an auxiliary-force operated steering valve, which is located in parallel with the steering unit between the supply connection arrangement (P, T) and the working connection arrangement (L, R), and a feedback suppressing device, which is active, when the steering valve is active. It is endeavoured to find a simple manner of ensuring the priority of the steering initiator over the steering valve. For this purpose, the steering initiator interacts with an activation sensor, which deactivates the feedback suppressing device on an activation of the steering initiator.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS:

This application is a Divisional Application of Non-Provisionalapplication Ser. No. 11/061,559 entitled ‘Hydraulic Steering’ to BendtPorskrog, et al. filed Feb. 18, 2005 and claiming priority to GermanPatent Application No. 10 2004 009 672.4, filed on Feb. 27, 2004, andGerman Patent Application No. 10 2004 021 531.6 filed on May 3, 2004,the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention concerns a hydraulic steering with a steering initiator.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

One type of a steering is known from EP 0 244 418 B1. Such steerings areparticularly used in driven machines, for example mobile agriculturalequipment. The steering unit activated by the steering initiator, forexample a steering handwheel, is used to permit a driver to steer thevehicle. This mode of operation is particularly useful in the roadtraffic. The auxiliary-force activated steering valve can be used forautomatic steering of the vehicle, for example along a path defined fromthe outside.

In a steering unit, which has feedback properties, it is not absolutelynecessary to have a mechanical connection between the steered wheels andthe steering initiator, for example the steering handwheel. However, ahydraulic connection is continuously available from the steering motorto the steering unit, so that forces, which act upon the wheels steeredby means of the steering motor, can also be felt on the steeringhandwheel. As soon as the steered wheels are loaded from the outside,pressures are generated in the steering motor, which propagate up to thesteering unit thus reaching the measuring motor, which again transferthem to the steering handwheel.

In a steering having a steering unit with feedback properties, it cantherefore frequently be seen that the steering initiator moves, when thevehicle is steered by means of the auxiliary-force activated steeringvalve. When the steering initiator exists in the form of a steeringhandwheel, this steering handwheel can turn at an activation of thesteering by the steering valve, which can be very disturbing for thedriver.

Therefore, a change-over valve has been provided in the known steering,which in a first position connects the working connection arrangementwith the steering motor and in a second position connects the workingconnections with each other and separates them from the steering motor.In this case, the steering of the vehicle takes place merely via thesteering valve.

This, in fact, prevents a feedback from the steering motor to thesteering handwheel, when the vehicle is steered via the steering valve.However, it is not possible for the driver of the vehicle to intervenein the steering behaviour of the vehicle via the steering handwheel,when this is necessary or desired. This can lead to dangeroussituations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is based on the task of providing a simple manner ofensuring the priority of the steering initiator over the steering valve.

With a steering as mentioned in the introduction, this task is solved inthat the steering initiator interacts with an activation sensor, whichdeactivates the feedback suppressing device on an activation of thesteering initiator.

This relatively simple embodiment ensures that in any operatingsituation the steering handwheel has priority over the effectoriginating from the steering valve. The activation sensor continuouslydetermines if the steering initiator is activated. As soon as thesteering initiator is activated, it is assumed that the driver wishes toenable a direction change by means of the steering initiator. In thiscase, the steering initiator immediately deactivates the feedbacksuppressing device, so that it is immediately possible for the steeringunit to act upon the steering motor. As the pressures acting upon thesteering motor via the steering unit are always larger than thepressures supplied by the steering valve, it is ensured that anactivation of the steering initiator will give the steering unitpriority over the steering valve.

It is preferred that the steering initiator exists in the form of asteering handwheel, which is connected with the steering unit via asteering shaft, the activation sensor determining an activation of thesteering handwheel. When a steering handwheel is activated, this is aunique signal that a direction change of the vehicle is desired. Anactivation of the steering handwheel is relatively easily determined.

It is preferred that the activation sensor interacts with the steeringshaft. This means that the activation sensor is located in a position,in which it does not disturb the driver. The access to the steeringhandwheel is not impeded in any way. A rotation by a small angle in therange from 1 to 50 can already be determined on the steering shaft,which indicates that a steering activation via the steering handwheel isdesired.

Preferably, the activation sensor is a torque sensor. A torque sensordetermines when a force is acting in the rotation direction. This forcedoes not yet have to be followed by a movement.

Alternatively, the activation sensor can also be a rotation anglesensor. Already small rotation angles are sufficient to indicate thatthe steering handwheel has been activated. It is relatively easy todetermine a rotary movement of the steering handwheel.

Preferably, the feedback suppressing device has a brake, which acts uponthe steering initiator. Thus, the steering initiator is simply retained,when the vehicle is steered via the steering valve. A movement of thesteering initiator is thus reliably prevented.

Preferably, the brake acts upon the steering handwheel via the steeringshaft. Thus, the steering shaft merely has to be prevented from turningto avoid that the feedback from the steering motor on the steeringhandwheel can be felt by the driver. This does not require changes ofthe feedback properties of the steering unit.

Preferably, the activation sensor is located between the brake and thesteering handwheel. In spite of an activated brake, the activationsensor can determine when someone turns the steering handwheel. Such arotary movement of the steering handwheel can at least propagate to thebrake, and then leads to a distortion of the steering shaft. Such adistortion does not have to be large to be determined.

It is preferred that the brake is an electrically activated brake. Anelectrically activated brake is easily activated or deactivated. It can,for example, work electro-magnetically.

It is preferred that the brake generates a maximum braking torque of 8Nm. Such a braking torque can easily be overcome by a driver, that is,in spite of an activated brake the steering handwheel can be turnedwithout much effort. The effect of the brake is sufficient to preventthe steering initiator from moving along at an activation of thesteering valve and the resulting activation of the steering motor.

In an alternative or additional embodiment, it can be ensured that thefeedback suppressing device has a change-over valve acting upon theworking connection arrangement. This change-over valve changes itsswitching position to block or permit the feedback from the steeringmotor to the steering initiator.

In a preferred embodiment it is ensured that in its activated positionthe change-over valve blocks at least one working connection. When aworking connection is blocked, the circuit between the steering motorand the steering arrangement is interrupted, so that influences of thesteering motor can no longer penetrate to the steering initiator via thesteering valve or via external forces.

Additionally or alternatively, the change-over valve can, in itsactivated position connect the steering valve with a steering motor, andin its deactivated position connect the steering unit with the steeringmotor. In the activated position, the working connection arrangement isthen interrupted. In the deactivated position of the change-over valvethe connection arrangement of the steering valve is interrupted.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following, the invention is described on the basis of preferredembodiments in connection with the drawing, showing:

FIG. 1 is schematic diagram of a hydraulic steering with a firstembodiment of a feedback suppressing device;

FIG. 2 is a modified form of a hydraulic steering with a differentfeedback suppressing device; and

FIG. 3 is a third embodiment of a hydraulic steering.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A hydraulic steering according to FIG. 1 has a steering motor 2, whichis provided for steering wheels, not shown in detail. In vehicles witharticulated steering, the steering motor can also be provided to swingthe front part and the rear part of a vehicle in relation to each other.

The steering motor 2 can be activated in two different ways. Firstly, asteering unit 3 is provided, which is activated by a steering handwheel4 via a steering shaft 5. The steering unit 3 has a supply connectionarrangement with a pressure connection P and a tank connection T, aswell as a working connection arrangement with two working connections L,R. The working connections L, R are connected with the steering motor 2.The pressure connection P is connected with a pump 7 via a priorityvalve 6. The tank connection T is connected with a tank 8.

The steering unit has a measuring motor 9 and a directional valve 10.The steering unit 3 has feedback properties, that is, a so-called“reaction” steering unit, in which a pressure change at the workingconnection L, R can be felt at the steering handwheel 4. In thehydraulic diagram, this is shown by means of a connecting rod 11, whichdoes not exist in reality or not in this way. Further, in the neutralposition of the directional valve 10, a hydraulic connection existsbetween the working connection arrangement L, R and the measuring motor9. This means that, when the wheels steered by the steering motor 2 areinfluenced by jerks or other external forces, such jerks can be felt bythe driver on the steering handwheel 4. Such a feedback can, however, beadvantageous for the driving comfort.

Further, the steering motor is connected with a working connectionarrangement LV, RV of a steering valve 12, and can thus be activated bythe steering valve 12. The steering valve 12 can be activated via acontrol device 13. The control device 13 can have different embodiments,for example, it can be a radio receiver, via which the vehicle can beremote-controlled, it can be a scanner, by means of which the vehiclecan be led along a predetermined path, or it can be a device locatedsomewhere else in the vehicle, by means of which the vehicle can besteered from a second position.

The control device 13 is connected with a drive 14 of a proportionalvalve 15. The proportional valve 15 has a slide 16, which can bedisplaced more or less in one direction or the other by a control signalgenerated by the control device 13, releasing more or less a flow pathfrom the pump connection P to the steering motor 2 and from the steeringmotor 2 to the tank connection T in dependence of the direction and thesize of the deflection.

However, between the pump connection P and the proportional valve 15 ableed or a throttle 17 is further provided, which ensures that thepressure at the outlet of the proportional valve 15 is always smallerthan the pressure at the outlet of the directional valve 10, also whenboth the directional valve 10 and the proportional valve 15 areactivated simultaneously. This throttle 17 can be avoided, when atsimultaneous activation of the steering unit 3 and the steering valve 12it is ensured that the steering unit 3 has priority over the steeringvalve 12.

In a manner known per se, the steering unit 3 is provided with aloadsensing outlet LSE and the steering valve 12 is provided with aload-sensing outlet LSV. Both load-sensing outlets are connected withthe pump 7 via a change-over valve 18 with a load-sensing inlet LSP.Here, the pump 7 is shown as a displacement pump. However, thedisplacement pump can also be replaced by a pump arrangement, in whichit is otherwise ensured that the pressure supplied by the pumpcorresponds to the demand.

Usually, the steering motor is steered either via the steering unit 3 orvia the steering valve 12. When, now, the steering motor 2 is activatedvia the steering valve 12, a pressure difference occurs between theworking connections L, R, which can, due to the feedback properties ofthe steering unit 3, cause that the steering handwheel 4 turns. This canbe disturbing or unpleasant for the driver.

To prevent such a turning of the steering handwheel 4, a brake 19 isprovided, which acts upon the steering shaft 5. The brake 19 isactivated via a brake drive 20. The brake drive 20 can, for example, bea magnet, which draws brake pads towards the steering shaft 5. Thebraking torque exerted by the brake does not have to be particularlylarge. It can, for example, be in the range between 5 and 8 Nm. Such abraking torque is sufficient to prevent a movement of the steeringhandwheel in spite of the feedback properties of the steering unit 3.

The brake 19 is activated by the control device 13, when the controldevice 13 activates the proportional valve 15. For this purpose, a lineB is provided.

In order to be able to ensure, also during steering of the vehicle viathe steering valve 12, that the driver can steer by means of thesteering handwheel 4, which may be required in connection with anemergency, an activation sensor 21 is provided, which interacts with thesteering shaft 5. The activation sensor 21 determines if the steeringhandwheel 4 has been turned. Due to the relatively small braking torqueprovided by the brake 19, such a turning is possible without problems,however, requires a slightly large force to be provided by the driver.Also with engaged brake 19, a small turning of the steering shaft isusually possible. In this case, the activation sensor 21 can exist inthe form of a rotation angle sensor, which determines the rotationmovement of the steering shaft 5 being turned against the force of thebrake 19.

An alternative position of the activation sensor 21 is shown by means ofdotted lines. The activation sensor 21 is namely located between thesteering handwheel 4 and the brake 19. Also in this case, the activationsensor 21 can, of course, be a rotation angle sensor. However, it canalso be a torque sensor. When namely, the steering handwheel 4 isturned, when the brake 19 is engaged, this will cause a small distortionof the steering shaft 5, which can be determined by the torque sensor.Of course, also other determination methods for a torque can beimagined.

In the embodiment shown, the activation sensor 21 acts immediately uponthe braking drive 20, thus overriding the order of the control device13. When the activation sensor 21 establishes that the steeringhandwheel 4 is turned, and that thus also the steering shaft 5 mustturn, the brake 19 is immediately disengaged.

However, it is also possible to let the activation sensor 21 interactwith the control device 13, so that the disengagement of the brake 19 iscaused by the control device 13.

As soon as the driver turns the steering handwheel 4, the steering unit3 is activated. As the steering unit 3 provides a larger outlet pressureat the working connection arrangement L, R than the steering valve 12,the vehicle is steered by means of the steering handwheel 4 as long asthe driver finds this necessary.

The directional valve 10 usually has a slide set with an inner slide andan outer slide, as known per se. When the steering motor 2 is activatedvia the steering valve 12, a pressure difference occurs between themeasuring motor and the slide set. As, however, the inner slide isretained, the slide set will only open slightly to balance this pressuredifference. This gives a balanced situation with no significant oil flowthrough the steering unit 3.

Thus, the brake 19 forms a feedback suppressing device, which can beactivated at start-up of the steering valve 12 and deactivated via theactivation sensor 21.

FIG. 2 shows a modified embodiment in which the same or functionally thesame elements have the same reference numbers.

Instead of the brake 19 (or additionally to it), a change-over valve 22is connected between the working connection arrangement L, R and thesteering motor 2. In the switching position shown, the change-over valve22 connects the working connection arrangement LV, RV of the steeringvalve 12 with the steering motor 2. When changed over, it connects theworking connection arrangement L, R of the steering unit 3 with thesteering motor 2.

Thus, the change-over valve 22 ensures that always only either thesteering unit 3 or the steering valve 12 can act upon the steering motor2. A parallel operation of the two units 3,12 is not possible.

The change-over valve 22 is changed to the position shown by the controldevice 13, as soon as the steering motor 2 has to be activated by thesteering valve 12.

If, however, the activation sensor 21 determines that the steeringhandwheel 4 and thus the steering shaft 5 are turned, this is reportedvia a line S to the control device 13, which then activates a drive 23,for example a magnet drive, of the change-over valve 22 and changes thechange-over valve 22 to the other switching position, in which theworking connection arrangement L, R of the steering unit 3 is connectedwith the steering motor 2. This change can take place relatively fast,as it is supported by a spring 24. Further, the pressure at the loadsensing outlet LSE of the steering unit 3, which builds up relativelyfast, also acts upon the change-over valve 22 via an inlet LSU.

As soon as the steering handwheel 4 is turned, the activation of thesteering motor 2 takes place exclusively via the steering unit 3.

In relation to FIG. 2, FIG. 3 shows a simplified embodiment, in whichthe change-over valve 22 merely either releases (switching positionshown) or interrupts a working line between a working connection L andthe steering motor 2. When the change-over valve 22 assumes theswitching position shown, a feedback from the steering motor 2 on thesteering handwheel 4 is possible, but on the other hand also a controlof the steering motor 2 by the steering handwheel 4. When thechange-over valve 22 is switched to the other position, the fluidcircuit through the steering unit 3 is interrupted and thus also thefeedback.

Thus, in the embodiments according to FIGS. 2 and 3, the change-overvalve 22 forms the feedback suppressing device.

In all three embodiments, a small turning of the steering shaft 5, forexample in the range from 1 to 50, is sufficient to signal the wish forcontrolling the vehicle via the steering unit 3. Such a small turning ofthe steering shaft 5 is reliably determined by the activation sensor 21,which then immediately deactivates the feedback suppressing device 19,22.

In the embodiments according to FIGS. 1 and 3 it will be expedient todisplace the steering valve 12, which can be a proportional valve, toits neutral or blocking position, when the steering handwheel isactivated. In this case, it is avoided that, under unfavourablecircumstances, hydraulic fluid, which was to drive the steering motor 2,can flow off to the tank via the steering valve 12.

While the present invention has been illustrated and described withrespect to a particular embodiment thereof, it should be appreciated bythose of ordinary skill in the art that various modifications to thisinvention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent invention.

1. A hydraulic steering with a steering initiator, a steering unit withfeedback properties, which can be activated by the steering initiator,the steering unit having a supply connection arrangement with a pressureconnection and a tank connection and a working connection arrangementwith two working connections, an auxiliary-force operated steeringvalve, which is located in parallel with the steering unit between thesupply connection arrangement and the working connection arrangement,and a feedback suppressing device, which is active, when the steeringvalve is active, wherein the steering initiator interacts with anactivation sensor, which deactivates the feedback suppressing device onan activation of the steering initiator.
 2. The steering in accordancewith claim 1, wherein the steering initiator exists in the form of asteering handwheel, which is connected with the steering unit via asteering shaft, the activation sensor determining an activation of thesteering handwheel.
 3. The steering in accordance with claim 2, whereinthe activation sensor interacts with the steering shaft.
 4. The steeringin accordance with claim 2, wherein the activation sensor is a torquesensor.
 5. The steering in accordance with claim 2, wherein theactivation sensor is a rotation angle sensor.
 6. The steering inaccordance with claim 1, wherein the feedback suppressing device has achange-over valve acting upon the working connection arrangement.
 7. Thesteering in accordance with claim 6, wherein in its activated positionthe change-over valve connects the steering valve with a steering motor,and in its deactivated position connects the steering unit with thesteering motor.